Carletonville accident: woman found alive in a mortuary fridge

Was it an act of God or a matter of trial and error?

A woman involved in the Carletonville accident, who was presumed dead by paramedics, has been found alive in a mortuary fridge, according to eNCA.

When did the Carletonville accident happen?

On 24 June 2018, Distress Alert, an ambulance service that operates in Gauteng, responded to a horrific accident scene outside of Carletonville.

It was a pile-up accident scene where it is believed that the woman’s car had rolled, tossing her and two other passengers out of the spinning car.

How was the woman found dead on site?

Paramedics found the bodies and were sure that all three victims had passed away. Gerrit Bradnick, who is the operations manager at Distress Alert, stated that “we followed our procedures…we have no idea how it happened”.

The woman had been pronounced dead on site and sent to the mortuary. It was only when mortuary technicians were about to process her body when they realized that, shockingly, the woman exhibited signs of life.

What condition is the Carletonville woman in now?

The woman has since been sent to Carletonville hospital and it is believed that she is in a very critical condition. Lesemang Matuka, who is the spokesman of the Gauteng Health Department, has since confirmed that the woman’s family has been contacted with the startling news.

An investigation has been opened to determine how this may have happened. Gerrit admitted that “the crew is absolutely devastated”. He also stressed that Distress Alert is “not in the business of declaring living people dead, we’re in the business of keeping people alive”

No further details have emerged about the identity of the woman or what her current condition is.

The paramedics who responded to the accident are still finding it difficult to wrap their heads around how they may have missed any signs of life at the scene. Gerrit cited that the team had exercised all the necessary measures, including breathing and pulse checks.